Themes by tag: prisoners

The campaign under the slogan “Don’t be silent. Captivity Kills!” action will take place in Krolevets, Sumy Oblast, Pavlohrad, Dnipro Oblast, and Odesa on January 6. 

The gatherings to be staged in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk (Poltava region), Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region), Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ovruch (Zhytomyr region) are scheduled for January 7. 

The peaceful rally is held by families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. 

For reference: On January 3 this year, Ukraine brought 230 military and civilians back from Russian captivity. That’s the largest prisoner exchange to be carried out since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Among those who returned home, there were no representatives of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade, who defended Mariupol and surrendered in May 2022 on the orders of their command.

• prisoners

On January 5, Media Center Ukraine Ukrinform will host a briefing on the investigation of the terrorist attack in Olenivka “Crime without punishment.”

Participants:

• Anna Lobova, a wife of a soldier heavily wounded in the terrorist attack, “Olenivka Families Community” NGO;
• Mariia Alieksieievych, a wife of a soldier heavily wounded in the terrorist attack, “Olenivka Families Community” NGO;
• Tetiana Katrychenko, Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) NGO;
• Andrii Yakovlev, Regional Center for Human Rights NGO;
• A representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War;
• A representative of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

For reference: On the night of July 29, 2022, the russian federation committed a terrorist attack, setting off an explosion in the barracks of the penal colony in Olenivka with Ukrainian POWs kept inside. As a result, at least 50 Azovstal defenders were killed.

On January 5, 2023, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, stated that the Secretary-General had decided to disband the fact-finding mission regarding the 29 July 2022 incident at Olenivka.

Both the UN and the ICRC were denied access to the scene of the crime. Moreover, these organizations refrained from explicitly attributing responsibility to the russian federation for the lack of access. 

• prisoners
• Kyiv

On December 23, the exhibition “Fragility” will open in Kyiv. This exhibition is dedicated to prisoners of war and those who are waiting for their relatives and friends from captivity.

In the first days of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, defenders and workers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant were under the russian occupation.

On March 31, 2022, the russians captured 169 Ukrainian National Guardsmen on the territory of the Chernobyl NPP and took them to Bryansk region of the russian federation. 108 of them still remain in captivity.

In order to draw attention to these prisoners of war and support the families who are waiting for the return of their loved ones, a gallery in the capital will display paintings, sculptures and digital works by more than 20 contemporary foreign and Ukrainian artists.

At the opening, everyone will be able to talk with relatives and friends of the Guardsmen — the defenders of the Chernobyl NPP — and watch a short documentary made by Babylon’13 film collective about the work of combat medics from Hospitallers battalion.

50 of the presented works will be available for purchase at an online auction. Funds will be directed to the Hospitallers battalion to support “Avstriika” hospital on wheels.

The event requires accreditation.

• casualties
• culture
• prisoners
• Kyiv

Oleh Horbachov, the lawyer of Stanislav Asieiev, a former prisoner of the “Insulation” concentration camp, said that during the court session on December 22, the defendant is to present the closing statement. Then the judges will go to the conference room to agree on the sentence. Stanislav Avsieiev’s defense attorney said that he would ask the court to let the journalists be present in the court when the verdict is announced.

For reference: Denys “Palych” Kulykovskyi is charged with five counts, including human trafficking and violation of the laws and customs of war. The prosecutor’s office demands 15 years behind bars for the accused man.

“Insulation” is the term referring to the territory of the former insulation material factory in Donetsk. In June 2014, it was captured by the occupiers and turned into a military base and a prison for the captives. “Insulation” prison was repeatedly called “Europe’s last concentration camp” in the media.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 26, 2022, Vasyl Vyrozub, the abbot of the Odesa Holy Trinity Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, was captured by the enemy. He was among those who went to Snake Island to collect the bodies of the border guards, who were still considered dead at that time.

The Ukrainian ship that Vasyl was traveling on was captured by the russian cruiser “Moskva.” The man, along with two other military chaplains and a doctor, was captured by the russians. Vasyl’s captivity lasted 70 days, during which he was tortured. The russians interrogated the Ukrainians constantly: they could not understand why the crew had set out to collect the bodies of the border guards. The captives were forced to sing the national anthem of the aggressor country, stand on their knees, and were kept in solitary confinement.

After being captured, Vasyl received the Memory of Nations award from the Czech non-profit organization Post Bellum, the main purpose of which is to honor living witnesses of historical events: war veterans, political prisoners.

For reference: The fighting for Snake Island began on February 24, 2022, when russian invaders captured the island. At first all 13 Ukrainian border guards who had been protecting the island were considered to have been killed. Subsequently, the Border Service of Ukraine reported that the Snake island defenders may be in captivity.

On July 4, 2022, Snake Island returned under Ukraine’s control. 

• casualties
• prisoners
• religion
• russian crimes

The Women of Steel NGO, together with the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war, invites the media to a peaceful action called Lost Connection to take place on December 10, in Kyiv. The event is aimed at supporting Ukrainian prisoners of war and their families.

“We want the Ukrainian government and society to hear us and demonstrate their intention to continue the decisive struggle for their liberation together with the families of Ukrainian captured defenders,” the organizers of the campaign state.

According to them, the exchange process has been completely paused for the past six months. Ukrainian soldiers held hostage in Russian custody are deprived of any chance to send word about themselves being in captivity.

Women of Steel is convinced that only the unity and integrity of society and increasing pressure on the aggressor state can influence the situation.

• military
• prisoners
• women
• Kyiv

In January 2015, during fierce fighting that flared near the Donetsk airport, Bohdan Pantiushenko, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was taken prisoner by Russia. It took five years to bring Bohdan home. He was freed from captivity in a prisoner exchange on December 29, 2019. Today, together with his wife Victoriia, Bohdan has started his own business, namely a family-friendly cafe in the Kyiv region. A couple, raising a little boy, decided to design a kids’ space in their restaurant, as well as a number of dining options for children. 

At first, Bohdan planned to invest only his own assets, but then he learned about the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation support program for veterans. So the serviceman applied for a business grant and got almost three million hryvnias for the project launch. Bohdan and his wife hope the cafe will open its doors to visitors in the spring of 2024.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Olena Yuzvak has been under occupation. Despite the Russians taking over Hostomel, the doctor stayed and continued to work and help people. Olena distributed medicine and took care of the wounded until the occupiers took her prisoner. The doctor was imprisoned for a day, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian forces retake control of Hostomel. Olena immediately went back to work and tackled to restore the medical facilities she managed. One of them was located in the village of Moshchun in the Kyiv Oblast and was destroyed by a direct shell hit. Thanks to the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it to be an energy-independent Point of Invincibility. Now the doctor continues to work toward the restoration of medical facilities. 

• doctors
• occupation
• prisoners
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv

21-year-old Daniil Melnyk studied at the Lviv Military Academy. He used to be a deputy platoon leader and defended the Kyiv region from the enemy at the beginning of the all-out invasion. In the Borodiansky district, he was ambushed but took the fights with other combatants. Getting his hands wounded, he couldn’t even bandage them. He gave his ammunition to a comrade. Then he lost consciousness. Two days later, the Russians found him and took him prisoner. He was first held in Ukraine, then in Belarus, Russia, and the occupied Crimea. On April 21, 2022, Daniel was released from captivity.

He lost both his feet, his left palm, and 4 fingers on his right hand. Now the defender wants to go back to active duty service. He recently took part in the Sculpture series photo project.

For reference: Last December, Ukrainian photographer Marta Syrko founded the Sculpture series photo project. The protagonists of her photographs are Ukrainian defenders who suffered as a result of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine. (These are soldiers who were injured, got burned, or had their limbs amputated.) Civilians affected by the war can also join the project.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• prisoners

Olena Yahupova, a resident of Kamianka-Dniprovska, was abducted from her home by the occupiers in October last year. A denunciation was made against the woman for her husband’s Armed Forces of Ukraine service. While in the occupiers’ custody, Olena was tortured. The Russian military wanted to locate her beloved whereabouts. They were also gathering information about people with pro-Ukrainian views. Besides that, Olena was forced into labor slavery by the occupiers, and hostages were pressured to dig trenches. Yahupova did hard labor and lived in inhumane conditions. Olena managed to be freed after more than six months in captivity and is now in Kyiv.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes